John Dobson, the Stormers’ head coach, wants his team to end the year on a high note by defeating the Lions in the United Rugby Championship on New Year’s Eve, ending their unbeaten season at Cape Town Stadium.
In Cape Town, the Stormers take on the Lions, the last team to defeat the URC champions at the stadium.
The Stormers bid goodbye to their old home, Newlands, in November 2021 and authoritatively moved to Cape Town Arena.
Dobson’s team enters their final game of 2022 without losing any of their 16 games played at the stadium that year, including the URC final in 2021/22. They do, however, face the team that beat them 37-19 in December 2021.
Dobson explained prior to the game that the initial move was not as fruitful as his team would have liked. However, a year later, as they near the end of an unbeaten year at their new home, he is eager to finish 2022 without losing at the venue.
Dobson recalled the loss to the Lions, stating, “That was probably our lowest point last season.”
After Newlands, we all had to make the adjustment to playing here, and it wasn’t always easy.
“We weren’t sure about the move after losing to the Bulls and Sharks here and to Griquas at home in the Currie Cup.
Dobson said, turning his attention to this weekend: Since that game, we have gone more than 360 days without losing, but we still need to beat the Lions to win the entire year.
That is extremely significant to us, so it will enhance the game in some way.
“It’s one more game on New Year’s Eve against the team that beat us quite convincingly here a year ago, so that will be a big driver for us as a group of coaches.”
The Lions’ only victory over the defending champions in their last seven matches came in the same year they lost. The Lions’ four-game winning streak in the URC was also ended last week when they lost to the Sharks.
With a game in hand, the Stormers lead the South African Shield by 39 points, five points ahead of the Bulls. They are eight points behind Leinster going into the final match of the year, putting them in second place overall.
Despite England’s men’s and women’s teams’ failure to advance to the finals, the Rugby League World Cup this year sparked a strong desire for one thing: rugby league is a global sport. Everyone’s eyes are currently on the global game’s power intermediary to satisfy that commitment.
We should hopefully see the much-anticipated 12-year international calendar before domestic action begins in early 2023. That ought to give us some idea of how much weight will be given to the international game in the years to come.
However, despite World Cups always serving as a foundation for change, the sport has historically failed to build on them. The years following 2023 should hopefully offer something new.